Authorities did not indicate whether Teruel had ties to the vacant resort, but the smoke was first seen coming from second-story apartments that transients have recently used for shelter.

A witness reported that a man matching Teruel's description walked up and began talking about how he started the fire shortly after it ignited around 1 p.m. Sunday, Hobbs stated.

The witness approached Officer Doug Willson, of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and told him about the encounter with the culprit around 5:10 p.m., Hobbs stated. The witness reportedly provided a detailed description of the suspect.

Roughly 30 minutes later, another citizen came up to Willson and pointed out a man who was acting strangely just yards away from the charred Lakeshore Drive resort, Hobbs stated. The man was identified as Teruel, who reportedly matched the description of the person who bragged about how starting the fire.

Hobbs said he responded to Willson's location, patted down Teruel and found an expandable baton concealed inside Teruel's jacket.

Teruel was taken into custody for alleged weapon possession, and the initial witness later identified Teruel as the man who boasted about starting the Wisedas Resort fire, Hobbs stated.

The sergeant claimed Teruel provided conflicting statements to law enforcement before eventually admitting he was responsible for the blaze.

Teruel was booked into the county jail early Monday morning. His bail was set at $100,000.

Anyone with information about the Wisedas Fire is asked to call Clearlake Police Det. Travis Lenz at 994-8251.